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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday announced a ban on the previously named Philippine Maritime Game Operator (POGO).

In his third State of the Union address since taking power (pictured), Marcos said POGO, now known as the "Internet Game License" (IGL), had "entered into the most remote illegal territory of the game, such as financial fraud, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, cruel torture, and even murder."

He added: "Severe abuses and disrespect for our system must be stopped."

"All POGOs are banned from today," the Philippine leader said. "Accordingly, I direct Pagcor [Philippines Entertainment and Gaming Corporation, Philippines' gaming regulator] to suspend and suspend POGO's operations by the end of the year."

The president also urged the U.S. Department of Labor and the Ministry of Employment to help workers who would become refugees.

Official data showed a total of 25,064 Filipinos were employed by various POGOs as of the end of 2023, with around 22,000 working in the metro Manila region. Labor Minister Bienvenido Ragsma said in June that the country was taking necessary steps to support affected workers in the event of a ban on overseas gaming operators.

GGRAasia reached out to Pagcor for comment, but did not receive a response when this article was published online.

Finance Minister Ralph Lecto and Socio-Economic Planning Minister Arsenio Ballysakan backed a request by the news agency to ban the proclamation, which it described as a key figure in the administration's economic team, while the Philippine state news agency said it mostly targets mainland Chinese customers and employs a large number of Chinese-speaking foreign workers.

In April, the Chinese government said it was working with Philippine authorities to resolve issues related to online gambling, with China claiming the Chinese were "victims of off-the-board gambling." The two countries have recently maintained tense relations with respect to maritime territorial disputes as well as offshore gambling operations.

Several Filipino lawmakers and business groups also urged the president to ban POGO altogether.

In July last year, Pagcor introduced new regulations for international operators. In May, the regulator converted 13 temporary IGL permits into formal ones. As of July 16, there were 38 IGL license holders and seven temporary license holders to offer games to international customers, according to Pagcor.

At the weekend, a former Supreme Court judge said Pagcor should not grant POGO to serve China, given that China has banned gambling within its borders or targeted its citizens, except for land casino gambling in Macau.